Adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture Practices Among Farmers in Soy Sub-County, Kenya.

Abstract

Climate variability has lowered agricultural productivity, and aggravated foodinsecurity, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Small-scale farmers are especially susceptible to the negative impacts of climate change because their livelihoods depend on rain-fed agriculture This study sought to assess the current climate-smart agricultural practices used by farmers in the Soy Sub-County and the level of adoption of these Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices. The study utilized a survey method that utilized questionnaires and interviews among 196 households and seven key informants, respectively. The results revealed that the main farming system was maize farming (61%) and livestock(87%). On average, farmers owned 5-10 acres of land (32%). As part of CSA, most of the participants do fodder conservation (85%) using conventional methods. In terms of CSA, most farmers adopted improved livestock breeds that are resistant to drought and parasites and improved nutrition (94% and 82%, respectively), and changing the planting patterns (94%). The rate of CSA adoption rates varies from practice to practice depending on demographic factors. Age significantly affects the CSA adoption (p=0.029, t=-21.777, CI=0.05). On the other hand, the soil type positively influenced the farmers’ adoption of CSA practices (p=0.042). Other socio-economic variables such as gender, household, experience, and education had no significant statistical effect on the adoption of CSA.